YouTube to live stream Dubai NYE celebrations

Dubai's New Year's Eve fireworks celebrations will be streamed live on YouTube, developer Emaar said on Monday.

Internet users from around the globe will be able to log on and watch the festive celebrations from Downtown Dubai, Emaar said in a statement.

It added that hundreds of families will head to Downtown to take part in what it called "the year's biggest event in the UAE" from 8pm.

"With 90 percent of users in the UAE viewing YouTube as an entertainment platform, this live stream of the New Year's Eve celebrations in Downtown Dubai by Emaar is is another way that we are bringing culturally relevant and timely content to users across the Middle East," said Tarek Abdalla, Google's head of marketing in the Gulf region.

The celebrations, expected to attract up to a million people, will feature firework and light shows, a live orchestra performance and a lake show.

Ahmad Al Matrooshi, managing director, Emaar Properties, said: "Every year when we plan the festivities for New Year we set ourselves an ambitious target - to make it the most watched spectacle on Earth.

"This year, we have the largest array of events - all scaled up in terms of creative excellence and artistic brilliance."